Australia’s Moesha Johnson etched her name into the history books in 2026. Not only did she claim the Overall World Cup Leader title, but she did so in flawless fashion - becoming the first open water athlete to win every race on the calendar.
Winning the final 10km race in Setúbal cemented her momentous achievement, one that the Australian said she was targeting from the start of the season.
“Coming into this season, my goal was to win the Overall World Cup. I didn't want to just be another winner, I wanted to do something special for the sport,” said Johnson.
“I'm Bernd Berkhahn’s first athlete to do this [win the overall title], and I didn't want to just win it by the skin of my teeth, I wanted to be quite dominant.”
Johnson did exactly that, and won not only every 10km race of the 2026 season, but all the sprint lap and 3km Knockout Sprint events too.
Coming into the final stop in Portugal, her eyes were firmly set on one goal: “After the last World Cup stops, where I had won the sprint laps, I really put the pressure on myself to just come out and do it again.
“I knew it was going to be tough, the World Cups this year were very heavily loaded because it isn't a World Championships year. So to win them all in an off season year, I think that's something I'm going to be very proud of for a long time.”
‘Feather in my Cap’
This World Cup season gave us every open water race condition imaginable, from flat water in Somabay to choppy waves in Ibiza.
That fact makes Johnson’s consistent performances across the board even more impressive, and showcases her proven adaptability in any given race situation.
“I think I can finally say, ‘I'm a complete open water swimmer’,“ said Johnson after the final race in Setúbal.
"I can do all the conditions: hot, cold currents, flat water, waves, wetsuit. And I think this season, this final race, it’s the feather in my cap"
‘Open Water is the Purest and Rawest Form’
Being one of many swimmers to compete in both open water and pool racing, Johnson spoke of the unique qualities of open water, and the things that set it apart from any other sport.
“Pool swimming is very electric and exciting, but it's just up and down the pool, and A plus B usually equals C.
“You could be the fastest person in the pool and come out here where you have to battle your mind. Open water is the purest and rawest form to me, it's the most accessible kind of sport to most people around the world and to all ages.”
Her message to any pool swimmers thinking of trying it for themselves is: “If you don't feel challenged, then with open water, you get to see the world, you get to challenge yourself, you get to meet some really amazing people.
"It's a great community and it's something you can do for life beyond professional sport. I think that's a really great culture to be part of for life"
Following what has been her most successful World Cup season to date, Johnson is ranked no.1 in the world. Her next event will be the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, which get underway on August 10th in California.
How The 2026 World Cup Season Played Out
From the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, here we take a look at the results and storylines of the women’s 2026 Open Water season.
World Cup Stop 1 - Somabay, Egypt - 27-28 March
The season opener in Somabay delivered a race style we rarely see in open water; split packs, single file racing and heroic individual efforts from start to finish.
It was Moesha Johnson who led that charge, winning the sprint lap before leading a three-person front group of eventual podium finishers, Ginevra Taddeucci and Lea Boy, for the rest of the race.
Johnson touched home for gold some 48 seconds clear of silver medallist, Tadduecci, and bronze medal winner, Boy - who put in a commendable individual effort to re-join the leaders after finding herself swimming solo at the beginning of the second lap.
Johnson’s dominant performance was somewhat of omen for how the rest of the World Cup season would unfold; a result which she commented on the day was ‘a great start to the season’ for her.
Spain’s Maria De Valdes had an exceptional swim in the Red Sea, finishing fourth in what would become her best individual 10km result of the season. Hungary’s Bettina Fabian - who had six World Cup medals to her name at the start of the 2026 season - rounded out the top five.
World Cup Stop 2 - Ibiza, Spain - 24-25 April
The second stop in Ibiza was a history-making event, featuring a record high 189 athletes from 25 National Federations - the highest ever at a World Cup stop.
Moesha Johnson once again claimed victory in the Women’s 10km; a race which delivered the most challenging racing conditions of the entire season.
The Australian double World Champion led the race from the very beginning, and held off a valiant late challenge from Spain’s own Angela Martinez Guillen - who followed up her gold in this event in 2025 with silver in 2026.
Choppy waves and cold water temperature forced the entire field to adapt, with Johnson stating after the race, “the biggest factor was dealing with the cold - mentally and physically. I was really racing the conditions first, and then thinking about tactics second.”
A significant bronze for Hungary’s Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas marked her first ever individual World Cup medal. With proven pedigree in the pool as a former European Champion (400m Individual Medley), she and Martinez Guillen shower their sprinting strengths down the final straight.
The pair out-touched fourth and fifth place finishers, Lisa Pou, and Klaudia Tarasiewicz; two athletes we regularly see finish inside the top ten. Despite disliking colder waters, 2025 World Cup winner Taddeucci posted a solid performance in Ibiza to finish sixth overall.
World Cup Stop 3 - Golfo Aranci, Sardinia - 1-2 May
The third stop in Sardinia resulted in a wetsuit swim for the women’s field due to sub-18 degrees water temperatures.
For gold medal winner, Moesha Johnson, it was her first time racing in a wetsuit; a fact that didn’t disrupt her performance one iota.
She carved out a 20 second lead on the first lap and never relinquished it, eventually finishing 25 seconds ahead of silver-medal winner Angela Martinez Guillen and bronze medallist Caroline Jouisse.
Johnson’s win in Golfo Aranci was a complete solo effort, and further illustrated her adaptability over changeable conditions. Speaking after the race, she said: “A wetsuit race threw a bit of a curveball. I've never raced in one, so I didn't know how that would affect me. But I know I’m strong, and once I’m by myself, I’m pretty hard to catch.”
For Jouisse, her medal win marked her first piece of individual hardware for the 2026 World Cup season. Having gone through the first lap in 29th position, the Frenchwoman put in a sterling effort to reach the lead pack.
Working with athletes such as Lea Boy and Lisa Pou, who finished fourth and fifth respectively, Jouisse touched home in third to earn her 14th World Cup medal.
Martinez Guillen’s result pushed her further up the overall rankings ahead of the final stop of the series. The 22-year-old followed up her silver-medal performance from Ibiza with another in Golf, bringing her tally of World Cup medals to five.
World Cup Stop 4 - Setúbal, Portugal - 20-21 June
Anticipation was high ahead of the culminating 10km race in Portugal, with expectant eyes ready to see if Moesha Johnson could make history by becoming the first open water swimmer to win every 10km in a single World Cup season.
Johnson rose to the challenge, and won gold to cement her title as Overall World Cup Leader for 2026. The result of the race was far from a sure thing though, with eventual silver medallist, Bettina Fabian, leading for much of the opening phase.
Despite not leading from the start as we have so often seen her do before, Johnson took command of the race on the penultimate lap. Having found a sixth gear to move from seventh position to first, the Australian carried the race home.
Fabian had her best race of the season in Portugal, and battled with Johnson right to the end - with a sprint to the finish resulting in her touching second by just one second.
Speaking afterwards, she said: “I'm extremely happy, this season was all about the comeback, to build myself up slowly and to not get injured again. And I'm very happy with the result.”
Fabian’s countrymate, Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas rounded out her World Cup season with yet another bronze medal, marking her best season yet on the open water circuit. Consistent performances from Lea Boy and Ginevra Taddeucci resulted in a fourth and fifth place finish for them.
Su Inal Tops Junior Rankings
An impressive season from Turkish open water swimmer, Su Inal, saw her topping the Women’s Junior Open Water Rankings for 2026 with 1850 points.
The 15-year-old finished 20th in the Women’s 10km in Ibiza this year in what was her debut World Cup, and had the overall title in her sights at that point.
Speaking after the second stop in Ibiza, she said: “This was my first World Cup, and I’m very excited and proud of myself. Coming from the junior level to race here is a big step, but it’s a great experience.
“I’m very motivated for the future, and I want to keep improving. My goal is to win at the junior level.”
Inal raced at three of the four stops on this year’s tour, with her best result coming in the 3km Knockout Sprint event in Ibiza where she finished 18th.